The MVR 5.1 billion Supplementary Budget, proposed by the Mohamed Muizzu administration, has passed Parliament without any amendments.
While the budget review committee summoned Minister of Finance Moosa Zameer and Governor of the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), Ahmed Munawar, during its review, Parliament voted against disclosing the utilisation details of the nearly depleted National Budget 2024.
With an administration-aligned supermajority in Parliament and the Committee, no changes were proposed to the MVR 5.1 billion figure that will carry the nation through until the end of December. Out of 86 Members of Parliament present at Tuesday’s sitting, an overwhelming 75 members voted in favour, with 11 members of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) voting against.
Allocation | Amount in MVR |
| Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) | 2 billion |
| Subsidies | 1.02 billion |
| Disbursement to State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) | 441.4 million |
| Contingency | 650 million |
| Student Loans | 458.4 million |
| Medical Consumables | 200 million |
| Medical Assistance | 262.6 million |
| Salaries and Remuneration | 24.4 million |
According to the Muizzu administration, they had been forced to utilise smaller amounts for PSIP projects while having to implement previously stalled large-scale projects that had already been contracted last year, with advances paid out.
Similarly, the budget needs to be supplemented to pay for annual bills and newly launched mega projects, as project progress has been faster than expected, the Ministry noted, explaining that out of the MVR 5.1 billion, MVR 2 billion will be spent on PSIP.
Additional reasons cited by the Ministry for the proposed supplementary budget included:
- The approved budget being out of synch with President Mohamed Muizzu’s vision
- Expenses incurred on medical consumables exceeding estimates
- Projected rise in spending on indirect subsidies
- Loans to additional students under the Student Loan Scheme
The Solih administration passed the budget for 2024 knowing that MVR 60 billion was required, Finance Minister Zameer told Parliament during the initial presentation, explaining that the supplement was kept lower with cost control measures in place.
The Parliament-approved National Budget for the year 2024 was valued at MVR 49.8 billion.
According to figures shared by the Finance Ministry, 74 percent of the MVR 49.8 billion approved for this year had been spent as of last month.
In addition to spending, the supplementary budget also included changes to revenue estimates. An additional MVR 640 million is now expected in terms of state revenue, bringing the total to MVR 34.1 billion.
With the approved budget supplement, the total budget for 2024 has now increased to nearly MVR 55 billion.
